The Seamonster (B. 71; M., Holl. 66; S.M.S. 21)

As Dürer's interest in the classical nude and the appropriation of Italian art of the previous generation (in particular Mantegna and Pollaiuolo, whose Battle of the Naked Men is being offered in the Renaissance sale at Christie's, New York, on January 30th) intensified, his subjects became increasingly mysterious. Whether he illustrated obscure mythological subjects suggested by his humanist friends, such as Pirckheimer, or whether he took elements of pre-existing images and myths to create his own fanciful subjects is impossible to determine. Legions of art historians have tried to unravel the iconography of the Seamonster and Hercules (see the preceeding lot), without ever coming to a satisfying conclusion. In his diary of his Netherlandish journey Dürer laconically refers to the present work as the 'Meerwunder', and the first recorded description of the print, by Giorgio Vasari, is still as valid as any: una ninfa portata via da un Mostro Marino, mentre alcun'altre Ninfe si bagnano (a nymph carried off by a seamonster, while some other nymphs bathe.)